formality and constraint. I muft own, at the fame time, these Beauties are a little too artificial for my tafte: you have seen a French picture, the Original is more painted, and fuch a crust of powder and effence in their hair, that you can see no difference between black and red. By difufing Stays and indulging themselves at table, they run out of all fhape; but as to that, they may give a good reafon, they prefer Conveniency to Parade, and are, by this means, as ready, as they are generally willing, to be charitable.

I am furpriz'd to find I have wrote so much scandal; I fancy I am either setting up for a wit, or imagine I must write in this ftyle to a wit; I hope you'll prove a good-natur'd one, and not only let me hear from you sometimes, but forgive the small encouragement you meet with. I won't trouble myself to finish finely; a true compliment is better than a good one, and I can affure you without any, that I am very fincerely,

Şir, Yours, &c.

I

SIR,

LETTER VI.

To Mr. FENTON.

May 5.

Had not omitted answering yours of the 18th of laft month, but out of a defire to give you fome certain and fatisfactory account, which way, and at what time, you might take your journey. I am now commiffioned to tell you, that Mr. Craggs will expect you on the rifing of the Parliament, which will be as foon as he can receive you in the manner he would receive a man de belles Lettres, that is, in tranquillity and full leifure. I dare fay your way of life (which,

(which, in my tafte, will be the best in the world, and with one of the best men in the world) must prove highly to your contentment. And, Í must add, it will be still the more a joy to me, as I fhall reap a peculiar advantage from the good I shall have done in bringing you together *, by feeing it in my own neighbourhood. Mr. Craggs has taken a houfe close by mine, whither he proposes to come in three weeks In the mean time I heartily invite you to live with me; where a frugal and philofophical diet, for a time, may give you a higher relish of that elegant way of life you will enter into after, I defire to know by the first post how foon I may hope for

you,

I am a little fcandalized at your complaint that your time lies heavy on your hands, when the Muses have put fo many good materials into your head to employ them. As to your question, What I am doing? I anfwer, Juft what I have been doing fome years, my duty; fecondly, relieving myself with neceffary amusements, or exercises, which fhall serve me inftead of phyfic as long as they can; thirdly, reading till I am tired; and laftly, writing when I have no other thing in the world to do, or no friend to entertain in company.

My mother is, I thank God, the easier, if not the better, for my eares; and I am the happier in that regard, as well as in the consciousness of doing my beft. My next felicity is in retaining the good opinion of honest men, who think me not quite un

*Mr. Craggs had had no learned education: he wanted to improve himself in knowledge of that kind, and defired Mr. Pope to chufe Lim out a polite fcholar, by whofe converfation and inftruction he might improve himself in letters. Mr. Pope recommended Mr. Fenton: but Mr. Craggs' untimely death prevented both from receiving the benefits of this connexion.

deferving

deferving of it; and in finding no injuries from others hurt me, as long as I know myself. I will add the fincerity with which I act towards ingenious and undefigning men, and which makes me always (even by a natural bond) their friend; therefore believe me very affectionately

Your, &c.

LETTER VII.

Rev. Dean* BERKLEY to Mr. POPE.

I

Naples, Oct. 22, N. S. 1717.

Have long had it in my thoughts to trouble you with a letter, but was difcouraged for want of fomething that I could think worth fifteen hundred miles. Italy is such an exhausted subject, that, I dare fay, you'd easily forgive my faying nothing of it; and the imagination of a Poet is a thing fo nice and delicate, that it is no eafy matter to find out images capable of giving pleasure to one of the few, who (in any age) have come up to that character. I am nevertheless lately returned from an ifland, where I paffed three or four months; which, were it fet out in its true colours, might, methinks, amufe you agreeably enough for a minute or two. The ifland Inarime is an epitome of the whole earth, containing within the compass of eighteen miles, a wonderful variety of hills, vales, ragged rocks, fruitful plains, and barren mountains, all thrown together in a moft romantic confufion. The air is in the hottest season constantly refreshed by cool breezes

Afterwards Bishop of Cloyne in Ireland, Author of the Dialogues of Hylas and Philonous, the Minute Philofopher, &c.

P.

from

from the fea. The vales produce excellent wheat and Indian corn, but are moftly covered with vineyards, intermix'd with fruit-trees. Besides the common kinds, as cherries, apricots, peaches, &c. they produce oranges, limes, almonds, pomegranates, figs, water melons, and many other fruits unknown to our climates, which lie every where open to the paffenger. The hills are the greater part covered to the top with vines, fome with chefnut groves, and others with thickets of myrtle and lentifcus. The fields in the northern fide are divided by hedge-rows of myrtle. Several fountains and rivulets add to the beauty of this landfcape, which is likewife fet off by the variety of fome barren fpots, and naked rocks. But that which crowns the scene, is a large mountain, rising out of the middle of the island (once a terrible Volcano, by the ancients called Mons Epomeus) its lower parts are adorned with vines, and other fruits; the middle affords pasture to flocks of goats and fheep; and the top is a fandy pointed rock, from which you have the finest profpect in the world, furveying at one view, befides feveral pleafant islands lying at your feet, a tract of Italy about three hundred miles in length, from the promontory of Antium to the cape of Palinurus: the greater part of which hath been fung by Homer and Virgil, as making a confiderable part of the travels and adventures of their two Heroes. The Ilands Caprea, Prochyta, and Parthenope, together with Cajeta, Cuma, Monte Mifeno, the habitations of Circe, the Syrens, and the Læftrigones, the bay of Naples, the promontory of Minerva, and the whole Campagnia felice, make but a part of this noble landfcape; which would demand an imagination as warm, and numbers as flowing as your own, to defcribe it. The inhabitants of this delicious ifle, as they are without riches and honours. fo are they without the vices and follies that attend them; and

were

were they but as much strangers to revenge, as they are to avarice and ambition, they might in fact anfwer the poetical notions of the golden age. But they have got, as an alloy to their happiness, an ill habit of murdering one another on flight offences. We had an instance of this the second night after our arrival, a youth of eighteen being shot dead by our door: and yet by the fole fecret of minding our own business, we found a means of living fecurely among these dangerous people. Would you know how we pass the time at Naples? Our chief entertainment is the devotion of our neighbours: befides the gaiety of their Churches (where folks go to fee what they call una bella Devotione (i. e.) a fort of religious opera) they make fireworks almost every week, out of devotion; the streets are often hung with arras, out of devotion; and (what is still more ftrange) the ladies invite gentlemen to their houses and treat them with mufic and fweetmeats, out of devotion; in a word, were it not for this devotion of its inhabitants, Naples would have little else to recommend it, befide the air and fituation. Learning is in no very thriving ftate here, as indeed no where else in Italy; however, among many pretenders, fome men of tafte are to be met with. A friend of mine told me not long fince, that, being to vifit Salvini at Florence, he found him reading your Homer he liked the notes extremely, and could find no other fault with the verfion, but that he thought it approached too near a paraphrafe; which fhews him not to be fufficiently acquainted with our language. I wifh you health to go on with that noble work, and when you have that, I need not with you fuccefs. You will do me the justice to believe, that whatever relates to your welfare is fincerely wished by

Your, &c.

LET